Saturday, April 28, 2007

It's getting hard to get the new information posted fast enough. This information came from the National Pet Foundation late yesterday.

There have been more cat and dog food recalls today. If you recieved our update from earlier today, please be advised this is for "additional" brands. The FDA just released this information.
This includes an extended list of Blue Buffalo, Canine Caviar, Harmony Farms, plus more. To get the updated list please visit:
http://nationalpetfoundation.com/dog-food-recall.html/american-nutrition.html
Sign your family and friends up for the free pet alerts at:
http://nationalpetfoundation.com/pet-food-recall.html

Thursday, April 26, 2007

SmartPak Canine has recalled their product "LiveSmart Weight Management". They were using a rice protein concentrate from Wilbur-Ellis which already issued recalls on their products. SmartPak is claiming that all of their other products were not affected. The company has stated that they have contacted all of the customer that ordered this foods from online (which is their primary source of business) and informed them of the situation. Hopefully those individuals have been informed. However we just wanted to share this information directly with you since many pet owners had problems finding more information on their website. We talked to SmartPak today and they did provide us with a link to the recall information. They have to primary websites and the information was only posted on one of the sites.

UPDATE: Leigh-Ann over at The Blog Pound posts about yet another food that is now on the recall list. This time it includes DRY food: Drs. Foster & Smith Adult Dry Lite cat food, and Drs. Foster & Smith Adult Dry Lite dog food. Head on over to her place to get the full details....

Every year, the Wilson County Spay Station pays a visit to the Shelbyville-Bedford County Humane Association. This year's visit took place yesterday. I knew that it was coming up soon. Yesterday as Casey and I were driving home, we passed the Spay Station heading in the opposite direction. I figured yesterday was the day. This morning, I got an e-mail from one of our other members with details from yesterday's event. It was VERY successful! KUDO'S to the Wilson County Humane Association and their mobile Spay Station for being kind enough to help us out every year. Here's the account of yesterday's events from Debbie, another SBCHA member.

The Wilson County Humane Association brought their Spay/Neuter Station to Shelbyville Bedford County Humane Association to provide low cost spaying and neutering to the needy pet owners of Bedford County. They spayed and neutered 30 cats and dogs.

To see all of the pictures of yesterday's Spay Station visit, click HERE.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

I have a favor to ask of all my blogger friends. As you guys know, I am a dedicated volunteer for the Shelbyville-Bedford County Humane Association. A HUGE part of my duties as a volunteer is to come up with new fundraising ideas. I've recently come across a search engine that donates money to my charity, everytime someone does an internet search called GoodSearch.com. If you guys could find it in your hearts to use this search engine, it will help all of the homeless dogs and cats that I work so hard to help. Here's the info:

Dog owners unite! This is our week to celebrate National Scoop the Poop Week! An organization called aPAWS (The Association of Professional Animal Waste Specialists ) have designated April 23-30 to clean up after America's dogs. Pet ownership has reached a new high, so many pet owners that are busy with jobs, family, and other things are looking for ways to have the poop scooped for them. aPAWS is a non-profit organization that lists poop scooping services across the country on their website. For more information on the sometimes smelly holiday, click HERE and HERE. Now, get out there and get to scooping!!

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Casey and I had a very productive weekend, but we also managed to squeeze a lot of fun in too. On Friday night, we visited with friends until after midnight. On Saturday night, we went out to the movies with the same group. We went to see Aqua Teen Colon Movie for Theatres. I haven't laughed that much at a movie in a long, long time. My face hurt, when I left the theatre. I have that skewed sense of humor, and I just loved the movie! We ended up going to the late show, so we didn't get home until nearly 1:00 a.m. Sunday morning, we had earned a free breakfast at Pope's Cafe, so we met up there around 10:00 a.m. to have a group breakfast. By Sunday afternoon, I was in need of a serious nap.
Despite all the going and late nights, Casey and I made a lot of headway on the Great Pitch Project. The middle room in nearly complete. All we are lacking is some trips up to the attic for storage. The spare room...well you can now at least see the whole floor in there. Casey worked like a mad man all day on Saturday and made lots of progress. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I just hope it's not a train!
I'm back to the regular grind this week. I'm feeling much better, so I'll be back in the pool this week. I can't wait. I get antsy, when I'm out of the water too long! Everyone have a great afternoon!

Saturday, April 21, 2007

I've spent the better part of the morning categorizing and cleaning up my sidebar. I've gone through my blogroll and deleted links that haven't been updated in the last year or are no longer valid. If I usually link to you and have deleted your blog site, e-mail me or leave a comment. I'll be happy to add you back. I've tried really hard to group like categories together. It is still a little busy, so I'll be figuring out how to pare it down even more in the future.
It's an absolutely beautiful day, and I hope that everyone has a chance to go out and experience it. Casey and I are planning on going out to the movies and dinner with some really close friends tonight. We stayed over at their house visiting with them until midnight last night, so I'm paying for it today. 5:00 a.m. came early for this old girl today. I think I'm going to need a caffeine hit this afternoon. Everyone have a great weekend!!

I've found a really nifty little tool to stay updated on the pet food recall. The National Pet Foundation has an e-mail alert that you can subscribe to, when a new pet food is added to the recall. Just simply enter your name and e-mail address and you'll receive a notification, as new brands are added.

Seems that the U.S. is NOT the only country affected by contaminated ingredients. South Africa has been affected as well. This time, it's corn gluten that's contaminated with melamine. Leigh Ann also passes along some very good advice on label reading. Click HERE to read on.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

I apologize for not being around the past several days. I have been battling a really nasty stomach bug. I've been wishing for death or to feel better, not caring which of the two actually happened. I'm feeling some better.... I'll be back tomorrow with better things to say.

Friday, April 13, 2007

There are tales all over the internet about the losses suffered after the pet food recall. No one has an exact total of how many pets have died. What we do know is that this is only the tip of the iceberg. Before and during the recall's early days many pets were treated, only to come home and eat the tainted food again, resulting in their deaths. The whole twisted tale is sad. There is a beautiful write up posted at All Creatures by Jean Townsend - Johns Island, SC. There is one passage that a reader pointed out and wants to pass along to others. It is particularly poignant:

For some, the story ended there. But for others, there was one more horrifying chapter. Because kidney failure causes nausea, it's often hard to get recovering pets to eat. So a lot of these owners got down on their hands and knees and coaxed and begged and eventually hand-fed their pets the very same food that had made them sick. Those animals ended up right back in the hospital and died, because their loving owners didn't know that the food was tainted.

To read the entire passage, click HERE. It is a well written, moving piece.
It sure makes me wonder about Pinky Lee. She was eating Science Diet canned food.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Researchers believe they may have found another contaminant, in addition to melamine, in the recalled pet food. They are working at this time to identify what it is. It has also been found that some of the food may have contained excessive amounts of vitamin D, which can lead to renal failure. To see the whole story, click HERE. Looks like we've just hit the tip of the iceberg folks. I'm sure there will be much more information to come.
Also, the CFO of Menu Foods sold half of his shares of the company, just before the recall. THAT definitely looks a little shaky to me. What do you guys think? Click HERE for details.

Slate's checkup results are good. His bloodwork is all normal, and he's doing well on his new medication. He goes back for another check up in six months!! WOOT!! Thanks to everyone for the e-mails, comments, thoughts, prayers, and good wishes that were sent. You guys are the best!! Oh, and he got his special dish of Dairy Queen ice cream on the way home last night.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

As of yesterday, Menu Foods has expanded both its US and Canadian recall lists. For the updated information click HERE and HERE.
Also, Royal Canin has recalled some of its canned cat food. For more information on this brand, click HERE.

Today Slate is at the vet's office for his one month follow up. Dr. K wanted to run a blood test, after he completed a month of his new heart medication. Sometimes, this med can cause renal problems, and he just wanted to make sure that everything was o.k. So early this morning, we got all loaded up and off we went. I dropped him off on my way to work. He was so excited about the car ride. I'll pick him up on my way home. On the way home tonight, we are going to swing by Dairy Queen and get him a little ice cream cup for a treat. I don't want him thinking every time he goes for a ride that something bad is going to happen to him. This was an easy visit for him, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the results are good. Slate's been doing really well, and I hope it continues. Still a little stressed, but I'm trying to occupy myself. I'll have the full update tomorrow.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

I hope that everyone had a good Easter weekend! It was pretty quiet around our place. Casey and I just "chilled" out (no pun intended) on Saturday. Casey was busy watching some DVD series, and I curled up with a VERY good book. It is called Glass Houses by Rachel Caine.

My friend, Kim, recommended this book, and I agree that it's a really good read. I finished it in a day, so I'm on book 2 of the series now called The Dead Girls Dance.
On Sunday, Casey and I went over to my Mom's for Easter dinner. Afterwards, we went to pick up some friends at the airport, who were coming home from California. So many friends, so much travel. It makes me have wanderlust BAD!! I'm just biding my time, until the summer.
In honor of our anniversary, Casey took yesterday off. We spent the day doing the most romantic thing......finishing the middle room pitch project!! All we have left now is to take the boxed up books to the library for donation. Afterwards, I did a little laundry and house cleaning, and Casey grilled us some steaks. Now, it may not sound romantic to you, but it made Casey the most attractive man around to me!!

This weekend, Casey and I celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary. We've been together over 16 years now, and it gets better all the time. We've been together, since we were 19. Casey is the BEST husband a girl could ask for. He's always supported and encouraged me to be the best and follow my dreams. He's made sure that I've always been able to take the opportunities that I've been offered. He also loves me, even when I'm not the best person I could be. Could I be any more lucky?
So happy 9th Anniversary Casey!! I love you!

Friday, April 06, 2007

I love live concerts, so I'm excited that the Nashville Symphony is returning to play a spring show in Shelbyville again this year. They've done this for the past several years, and it's always a fantastic night. As a former member of the Nashville Symphony Chorus I love it, when I have a chance to see them perform in my own backyard. My friend John Carney (who is a great supporter of my humane efforts) is on the committee responsible for bringing the Nashville Symphony's music to Shelbyville. This year, he's created a blog to keep everyone updated on information for the event. Hop on over and give Symphony at the Celebration a look. Great job John!!

Thursday, April 05, 2007

It never ends. This just in and new today. There are some dog biscuits that have been added to the dog/cat food recall list. These are dog biscuits sold by Wal-Mart under the 'Ol Roy name. For full information click HERE.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

My day got off to a really strange start. I was brushing my teeth this morning, around 5:45 a.m. You know, just minding my own business, when something startled me overhead. I KNEW it was something. I just wasn't sure what. Anyway, I noticed within a few seconds that all of the cats were going C-R-A-Z-Y!! I also realized that I had noticed a flapping noise, when the little black streak was going overhead. I quickly looked out the bathroom door, after sounding like Princess Leia did after she spotted that mynock in The Empire Strikes Back, and noticed the attic door was slightly ajar. (The kittens have made it to the top of the kitty Nap and Play and are trying to wedge the attic door open).

The attic door is just above the kitty tower.

Anyway, I quickly deduced that either a bird or bat had come out of the attic. When Casey heard the scream, he came to see what was going on. He didn't believe my explanation of a bird, but I made him look all over the bathroom anyway. He asked, "Did something fall out of the linen closet?" I answered him, "Only if the laws of gravity have changed and things fall up now." After a complete search of the bathroom, nothing was found. Casey just walked away shaking his head like I was crazy. I just kept saying, "I KNOW there is a bird in this HOUSE!"
After a few minutes of feeling like a complete idiot, I heard Casey say, "The BIRD is in the living room!" I was relieved that it was indeed a bird and NOT a bat (birds are just easier to get outdoors, you know). Casey was busy making the mad dash to turn all of the ceiling fans off, before the poor creature committed suicide. Then, we just stood there looking at each other trying to figure out how to get this bird out of the house. By this time, the bird was flying back and forth from the kitchen to the living room. It finally decided to perch on the top of my pantry cabinet. ALL of the cats had gathered in the kitchen and immediately commenced bird charming. I ran to the bedroom to get an extra comforter to hang between the kitchen and living room archway. After I had that done, Casey opened up the backdoor in the kitchen and successfully shooed the bird out the door. We were VERY lucky that it worked the first time (no birds, cats, decorative items, or humans were hurt in the process). We knew we had to get it out, before we went to work. Between the bird and the cats, nothing would have been left of the house or the bird, I'm afraid.
Yes indeed. A strange morning.

Everyday, it seems that a different pet product is recalled. The latest includes Jerky Treats®, Gravy Train® Beef Sticks and Pounce Meaty Morsels® from Del Monte Pet Products. For full details go HERE.

The other new products on the recall list are DINGO products. They have found that these products contain salmonella. For full details on the DINGO recall go HERE.